Streetsofnaija

How to save Lagos re-emerging as Africa’s centre of filth

How to save Lagos re-emerging as Africa’s centre of filth

Waste management in Lagos has continued to pose great challenge to governments despite efforts put in place by successive administrations. World over, waste remains a threat to healthy living. The fact that wastes are unavoidable also means that method of disposal ought to be constant to avoid epidemics. This is why every sensitive government is expected to take waste management/disposal seriously as negligence could be more damaging or disastrous. Waste management entails all the activities and actions required to manage waste from its inception to final disposal. This includes amongst other things, collection, transport, treatment and disposal of waste together with monitoring and regulation. It also encompasses the legal and regulatory framework that relates to waste management and guidance on recycling. In the past, Lagos Waste Management Authority (LAWMA) had attempted managing waste methods through characterisation, improved technology and partnering with other nations. However, only limited success has been recorded. Indeed, health hazards due to the activities of the Private Sector Players (PSPs), the aging equipment they deploy, sharp practices by cart pushers, and the sorry state of the waste dump sites have all combined to worsen the situation. The need for an urgent action to turn around the conditions cannot therefore be overemphasized as delay in declaring emergency in the sector can be better imagined. In fact, there is the need for an elaborate and standardised regulation of the environment in Lagos State, in line with international best practices, while taking cue from locations such as the United Arab Emirates, Tanzania, Kenya, Namibia, and New York City in the United States. Lagos and New York City, for instance, are two mega cities that mean the same in terms of entertainment, commerce and global trends. While Lagos has a population of 21 million with an estimated population density of 13,405/ sq.km, New York City has a population of 23 million and with a population density of 10,833/sq.km. While New York with its huge population has been able to successfully handle the massive amount of waste generated daily, Lagos, on the other hand, is struggling with storage, collection and disposal of her waste. New York has about 120 landfill sites while Lagos has only six landfills, with only three of the six functioning. This is grossly inadequate for a mega city like Lagos, considering that it generates approximately the same amount of waste as New York does, even though, a huge percentage of this is solid waste. Asides struggling with disposal of the enormous amount of waste generated daily, Lagos has not been able to effectively collect its waste. This is invariably taking it back to the days when it was judged the dirtiest city in the world. This is exemplified as waste is littering roadsides, waste being disposed into drainages, and overflowing public bins, among several others. There is a huge gap in collection and the PSP operators obviously struggling with the huge amount of waste they have to collect. New York has successfully been able to collect its wastes through several methods including government-regulated commercial waste systems in which they have over 250 commercial waste haulers, as well as disposal through recycling methods and landfills. In that part of the world, waste is wealth. In Nigeria, and Lagos to be precise, waste is a curse rather than a blessing. It’s simply a disaster waiting to happen. It has been shown that only 60 per cent of the daily waste collected in New York go to the landfills compared to about 95 per cent in Lagos. Lagos must, as a matter of urgency look for a better waste management firm that would use the modern machinery. Lagos therefore needs to start recycling as an alternative to land filling. It has been seen that the heavy reliance on landfills has brought about environmental pollution and several health hazards to residents around the sites as seen in the Olusosun landfill, in Lagos’ biggest landfill sites. Newer method of waste collection should be explored to help effectively handle the waste generated. Other collection agencies need to be employed as it is obvious that the PSP operators alone cannot handle the massive amount of waste in the state. The Akinwunmi Ambode administration should tackle this hydraheaded problem without minding whose ox is gored. The speed and enthusiasm with which the present administration tackled the Light-up Lagos initiative should be deployed to combat this age long problem that has now grown to become a monster. The recent clean up exercise embarked upon in highbrow areas of Lagos like Victoria Island, Lekki and Ikoyi should be extended to the waste management sector. Government must, as a matter of urgency, seek help from those who have managed waste in mega cities around the world, while bearing in mind the nation’s and the state’s peculiar solid waste generation status. The call has become urgent as the current waste disposal and management regime in Lagos is ineffective to the extent that residents of the state are susceptible to outbreak of diseases as the state gets flooded and opened to environmental disasters. Lagos State is increasingly becoming dirty, a return to its former status as the dirtiest city in the world according to the UN. This is evident on its streets and road, as well as the existing waste management tactic – waste dumping. To reverse this trend, it is important that the state government would engage experts to redirect the methods and strategy using the latest machinery to address waste maintenance challenges in the state. To do this, the state would among other things; A• Harmonise the various laws on environment into a single law to allow for a more convenient administration of the law and management of the environment. B• Make way for an elaborate and standardized regulation of the environment of Lagos state in line with international best practices while taking cue from the United Arab Emirates, Tanzania, Kenya and Namibia. C• Allow for private sector participation in the management of the environment in an organized manner. D• Provide for an organized judicial framework for the administration of environmental law in the state. E• Ensure efficient enforcement and compliance with environmental standards in Lagos State. F• Provide for public and private sector driven advocacy, enlightenment, education and re-orientation of the public on environmental protection and management. To get this done, Lagos state government should therefore, review current waste disposal and management regime, the roles of Private Support Programme (PSP) because the state of untidiness of the state calls for questioning to ascertain their effectiveness. Government should therefore, as a matter of urgency put the state on waste management and disposal part similar to what obtains in other mega cities of the world. This if done, would save the state from dirt, save her residents from health hazards and protect the environment from being taken over by waste.

You may like

12-year-old boy kills landlady as condition to be initiated into a cult

A 12-year-old boy, who allegedly robbed and killed his landlady at Abraka, Ethiope East Local Government Area, Delta State, yesterday, was among those paraded for various offences by the state Police Command, yesterday.

The state Commissioner of Police, Mr. Zanna Mohammed, who briefed reporters on the arrest of over 60 kidnappers, robbers, murderers, cultists and ritualists in the last three weeks, said the teenager confessed that he committed the act because a cult group told him that one of the conditions for initiation was that he must have been involved in a criminal act.

Nigerian professional footballer, Asisat Oshoala, who plays as a forward in the Chinese Women’s Super league for Dalian Quanjian F.C., took to her Instagram to express deep concern about how people are now proud to be fraudsters.

Zimbabwean Church leader in s*x scandal as photos naked photos and sex acts with 33 girls is exposed

A Zimbabwean church leader, Nyasha Light Nyatsungo is enmeshed in a sex scandal and might also be facing legal action, after his ex-girlfriend flooded social media with his nude photo.

It was gathered that the Nyatsungo allegedly sent a nude picture of his Cape Town based ex–side chick, Shingi Mavenge, to his other girlfriend only identified as Beula who later broadcasted it on social media.

According to H-Metro, in an apparent fit of rage, Mavenge posted a WhatsApp chat she had with Nyatsungo’s wife identified as Nyasha Nhahumbi as well as a group chat with some of her former lover’s concubines.

According to Mavenge, she has gotten information that Nyatsungo has at least 33 girlfriends and has ditched his wife of eight years.

She adds that Nyatsungo bedded a girl who was their neighbour as well.

Mavenge said that the church leader’s wife revealed that they even consulted their local pastor in Mutare who failed in his attempts to mend Nyatsungo’s ways.

According to H-Metro, Nyatsungo, a married father of two, has denied ever circulating the picture, labelling Mavenge as a bitter woman whom he just flirted with on Facebook and nothing more.

“This Nyasha guy must be stopped in his tracks. He is going to pay for all the damage that he has done to me. He was the only one who had that leaked picture and I am shocked why he would forward it to some other girl,” fumed Mavhenge who is working on taking legal action.

“I started dating this guy in 2015 and never knew he was married. He lied.” fumed Mavenge yesterday.

“That guy is full of lies and at some point, we opened a group chat with his wife and some of his girlfriends. He normally targets single mothers” added Mavenge.

H-Metro was furnished with six other cellphone numbers of his girlfriend that include Fadzai, Mutsa, Essy, Juliana, Barbra among others. Mutsa confirmed she once had a relationship with Nyatsungo have since terminated it since she discovered he was married.

Mavenge confirmed they met once in Johannesburg when she had to fly from Cape Town to meet her man sometime in April.

“That night he didn’t even have money. I had to pay the R800 for the accommodation as he had no money. He wanted to have sex with me but I flatly refused. He even wanted it without protection and I said No. he looked terrible with clothes in a plastic shopping bag. I want to write a letter to Pastor Rex who is the head of (the church) in Harare so that this guy be stopped with his tricks and lies,” added Mavenge.

When contacted over the phone in Mutare Nyatsungo confirmed he knew Mavenge but never had a relationship with her.

“I know her and we once flirted on Facebook. We never had a relationship as she is alleging. I don’t know why she is bitter. I haven’t seen the nude pictures she is talking about but I heard about it from Beula. We live in a democratic country. She can go ahead and sue me if she feels her rights have been infringed upon. All the allegations she is making are false and I don’t know her motive in trying to tarnish my image,” said Nyatsungo.

He said he was still with his wife whose phone rang without response yesterday afternoon. Despite his denials, H-metro was furnished with pictures of Nyatsungo and Mavenge, the time they met in April.